Wednesday, November 21, 2018

New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha was on an AirAsia flight from Delhi to Ranchi on November 20. On board, he asked for a specific food item and was promptly turned down by the cabin crew. Why? Because Sinha had pre-booked a South Indian meal. So Sinha went on to pay for his snacks.

While this is how it is for most of us commoners, ministers happen to enjoy a little privilege here and there.

A Twitter user shared the incident on the micro-blogging platform and social media did what it does best: drew a line right across, with some people saying that a civil aviation minister shouldn't have had to pay for his snacks, while the others say that the crew was right in treating Sinha like any other traveller.
Asad Rashid wrote, "@AirAsia Your cabin crew needs to recognize MoS for Civil Aviation. Flew Delhi-Ranchi I5-545 today, with @jayantsinha in the adjacent seat. He asked for a specific food item but was told "you have booked a South Indian meal, which can't be changed now". So he paid for his snacks!"

While this is how it is for most of us commoners, ministers happen to enjoy a little privilege here and there.

A Twitter user shared the incident on the micro-blogging platform and social media did what it does best: drew a line right across, with some people saying that a civil aviation minister shouldn't have had to pay for his snacks, while the others say that the crew was right in treating Sinha like any other traveller.

Asad Rashid wrote, "@AirAsia Your cabin crew needs to recognize MoS for Civil Aviation. Flew Delhi-Ranchi I5-545 today, with @jayantsinha in the adjacent seat. He asked for a specific food item but was told "you have booked a South Indian meal, which can't be changed now". So he paid for his snacks!"
S Roy Choudhury replied to Rashid's tweet, "That's the spirit, Sir @jayantsinha Hope politicians of India from every corner....tries to learn from this. Humbleness wins over arrogance, everytime and always. It will be bad if @AirAsia is not complemented on its professionalism. I sincerely hope they atleast have the knowledge of their passengers, specially when someone like @jayantsinha is flying with them."

Kanchan Gupta wrote, "Actually other airlines, especially @airindiain , need to learn from @AirAsia. They deserve to be complimented for being professional. And MoS Civil Aviation @jayantsinha deserves to be lauded for not throwing his weight around. He is known for being genial and his humility."
21/11/18 IndiaToday.in